Dr. Robert J. Thrift

Dr. Robert Thrift’s reasons for becoming a veterinarian are simple: he’s always loved animals, medicine, and the sense of fulfillment he gets from helping people and their pets. He opened Bell Animal and Bird Hospital to provide his very own brand of compassionate, top-quality care to the pet owners of Glendale and surrounding areas.

Dr. Thrift grew up in Arizona with two brothers and a sister. He remained local for junior college before continuing his studies at Arizona State University. He also completed part of his schooling in the Philippines, and secured an internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City after graduating. Dr. Thrift’s education was finished at the University of Pennsylvania, after which he returned to his home state of Arizona to begin practicing veterinary medicine.

Dr. Thrift’s particular interests within animal medicine include surgery, radiology, dentistry, and acupuncture. He loves the feeling of being a “superman” to injured or ill pets who cannot speak for themselves!

In his spare time, Dr. Thrift enjoys skiing, camping, archery, fishing, and racing homing pigeons. Currently, he keeps about 100 racing pigeons; the birds are trained to fly in a straight line and come in for meals when Dr. Thrift rings a bell. His proudest racing accomplishment thus far occurred when his bird placed second out of over 1,000 birds!